Archive

It is hard to choose just ONE favorite salad, however since I have pretty much-loved this particular since I was in highschool so I can honestly say it is my favorite salad!

My favorite salad contains the following:

romaine lettuce

carrots

cuccumber

celery

cherry tomoatoes

boiled diced egg

garbanzo beans

shredded cheese

sunflower seeds

croutons

ranch dressing

Sometimes I will add chicken, however with the egg & garbanzo beans there is more then enough protein in this salad for me without it.

Why is this my favorite salad you may ask???

Basically because I just love the TASTE & TEXTURE of it!

Now, I love almost all “gourmet” salads as I call them. I would have to say my 2nd favorite is bbq chicken salad and my 3rd favorite is taco/mexican salad.

What is your favorite salad!?!?!

____________________

Prior to having my salad yesterday, Thursday, I had the following for breakfast.

Breakfast

I also snacked on a peach in the afternoon but my camera battery died so no picture. And, dinner was not had last night…….instead I munched on 150 calorie popcorn, a mango 100 calorie icee and nibbled on the taco fixings while I made some for my hubby.

Sing, laugh, repeat

Settle in for an hour of Glee and participate by belting out those lyrics; you’ll burn more if you do it standing, chorus style. When it’s your turn to rest your chops, laugh. Singing zaps 136 calories an hour, and 20 minutes of giggling torches another 67.

Bypass the boob tube

A 2-hour game of Scrabble will make you smarter and 200 calories thinner.

Both my husband & I loved the depth of flavor of this dish and I will be making it again in the near future.

However, it was a little on the “spicy side” for my taste buds, even with cheese & sour cream, and for my husband as well who had it without cheese & sour cream……so next time I will be using only 1/2 the chipotle chilli’s in the recipe.

Also, I did not “shred” the suggested 3 cups coarsely shredded roasted chicken breast and I also did not “pre-cook” it. I took 3 skinless boneless pieces of raw chicken breast, cut them up into small strips and added them to the sauce while cooking……..as seen in the above picture named Dinner Prep2.

And, I added a bit more honey then it called for to make it a little sweeter.

____________________

My EATS, aside from the above, included the following on:

Monday

Breakfast

Snack

Dessert

*I did not have dinner on Monday night as I got home from the gym pretty late, so I just munched on cherries and had an icee.

Tuesday

Breakfast

Snack

____________________

In light of my Dad’s work schedule changing I had to modify my 16-Week 15K Training Plan as he picks up my daughter once a week from Summer Camp (or school depending on the time of year) and takes her to dinner so I can hit the gym after work.

So this week I will be working out on Monday, Thursday & Saturday and then for 3 Weeks after that I will be working out on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday.

*Please note that I have also updated my Toning Training Plan, however not do to my Dad’s schedule but do the fact that I will be increasing my mileage a lot over the next 8 weeks (8 miles, 9 miles, 10 miles, etc.) and feel that doing LEG Toning right now would make my legs tired/sore during these runs and adversely affect them.

16-Week 15K Training Plan

EASY RUN

4 miles @ 12:00

It took me exactly 48 minutes to run 4 miles @ a 12:00 pace, which is supposed to be an EASY RUN and was not difficult by any means but as I have said before it just feels tougher for me to run “slower” now on the treadmill (not outside) so the run did not feel easy to me. As I felt like I needed to run faster most of the run and also felt more tired towards the end then usual. Though this may have been due to the fact that I ran 7 miles two days before so I only had one days rest inbetween.

____________________

TIP OF THE DAY!

20 Ways to Torch 200 Calories

Bat a birdie around

Challenge partygoers to a friendly game of badminton and burn about 200 calories in 40 minutes.

Act out

Help your guests burn off even more of that barbecue fare by leading them in an hour of charades.

It was a crazy day at work but good on the EATS department, good in the sense of “tasting good” not really being “good for me”.

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

In case you are wondering………the above is a BBQ Chicken Pizza from Pizza Xtreme and it is as good as it looks! =) In fact, it is my favorite pizza of all time. All their ingredients are so fresh and their crust is cornmeal, which I had never had until I ate this.

I have not had one of their pizza’s in over a year as honestly though I love them I try to avoid eating them because I can’t help but eat the entire pizza myself……good thing they come in “individual sizes”……..so I don’t go often but when I do I enjoy it to the fullest as I did on Friday night! =)

On to Saturday, 7/24/10.

I woke up bright and early on this morning at 7am………then I went back to bed for an hour and finally got up at 8am to go for my scheduled Long Run (7 Miles)! And, then I didn’t get out the door until after 8:30am. Luckily, it was only 79 degrees outside that late in the morning. I started my run officially at 8:35am and finished at 9:57am……….a total of 82 minutes (an hour and 22 minutes) in all.

Overall, it was a “really nice” run! It was hot out but not too hot as the sun was shielded by clouds or trees part of the run and there was also a nice breeze at times. Of course, that did not mean I didn’t sweat my pants off as I literally did not because my shorts were socked by the end of my run. I think this was the first Long Run I have done that actually felt really good. I only took 2 walking breaks for 2 minutes exactly each time.

The only bad part of the run was after I got home and mapped my run on www.mapmyrun.com and realized I was shy of 7 Miles exactly by .2 miles so I only ran 6.8 Miles in all……….=(……..but that is close enough in my book.

After showering I had a breakfast before heading toWalmartto do some grocery/household shopping.

Breakfast

I was going to head straight toPublix after Walmart to buy my meats and such that I don’t like to buy at Walmart but we (my daughter & I) ended up going out to eat at CRAVE a new restaurant by the mall with my Mom.

Then I had a banana cream pieCrave Miniature Dessert that was YUMMY! =)

It was really nice to get together with my Mom and have lunch as we rarely get to these days with both our “busy schedules”…..=)

Once we departed the restaurant my daughter headed home with my Mom to play with her cousins who would be coming over later and I headed to Publix finally to finish my shopping for the day.

And, I arrived home just a little before the hubby did so we were able to cook grill dinner together. We had T-Bone Steaks as they were on sale for $7.99 a pound instead of $10.99 a pound.

Dinner

Since we had the house pretty much all to ourselves the rest of the night as the little one went to the movies we curled up on the couch and watched “Silent Hill” for the 2nd time and were again once again scared. The movie is very well done but freaky!

And, then it was Sunday, 7/25/10…………or a/k/a SummerSpring Cleaning Day!

Prior to starting on my cleaning day I made a huge pancake breakfast.

Breakfast

I spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon cleaning the following:

bathrooms

dusting

mopping

vacuuming

wiping down appliances

I then did loads of laundry while doing the above and a little after as all the “bedding” needed to be done.

During lunch time I made one of my hubby’s favorites, Chicken BLT Sandwich.

Lunch

I snacked on some frozen blueberries throughout the day. If you have never had them, do yourself a favor and do……they are SO GOOD.

Snack

All the chores were completed by mid-afternoon so I was able to relax the rest of the day and to my surprise the hubby took us out for dinner at Back Yard Burger, YUM!

I had a cheeseburger with seasoned fries and a strawberry lemonade…..=)

The night ended with me falling asleep on the couch watching Challenge.

___________________

TIPS OF THE DAY!

20 Ways to Torch 200 Calories

Scrub-a-dub

Throw a barbecue, but first vacuum, sweep the patio, and straighten up.

My EATS were pretty on point yesterday, in fact I didn’t have any “meat” at all……my only protein sources were milk, yogurt & peanut butter.

BREAKFAST

Yogurt, Blueberries & Granola

LUNCH

Whole-wheat toast w/peanut butter, veggies & 1/2 an apple

DINNER

Frosted Shredded Wheat w/2% Milk

DESSERT

Cherry Real Italian Icee

I was so busy yesterday that I barely had time to eat, if you can’t tell by the above………guess that isn’t such a bad thing as the “scale” rewarded me this morning with a very low number, but I am sure I will go up over the weekend as I always do.

I don’t have much planned for the weekend besides some chores (grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc.) and lot of running (2 miles tonight and 7 miles on Sunday) so I am looking foward to hoping getting some down time or time at the pool……….have a great weekend everyone! =)

____________________

TIP OF THE DAY

20 Ways to Torch 200 Calories

Scrub-a-dub

Throw a barbecue, but first vacuum, sweep the patio, and straighten up.

See Florida’s race season doesn’t begin in the Spring like most of the country it begins in the Fall, well the end of Summer if you want to be exact.

How do I now this you may ask?

Because the Track Shack – 2010 to 2011 Event Guide arrived in the mail today…………..

……..and I was so happy to see to advertisements for the Miracle Miles 15K that I am currently training for on the back of the guide.

I am SO excited!!! I have run in the race for the past 2 years but in the 5K that they also have on the same day, not the 15K. Not the 15K that I have been wanting to run for the past 2 years.

Year 1 (2008)– I was not ready by any means to run the 15K, as I a hard time finishing the 5K as it was. It took me 38 minutes. See it was one of the 1st races I had run in and I also had not been running outside on a regular basis so I was just not ready for an outside race in the hight of Florida hot & humid season.

Year 2 (2009) – I ran the 5K much stronger the 2nd year and it only took me 33 minutes that time, that is 5 minutes faster than the 1st time I ran. The reason, I was much more prepared. I spent the year, 2008 to 2009, running outside more so I could become more accustomed to it and as you can see in my time it worked. However, I had yet to run any “real” long distance at that point so I was not ready to run the 15K by any means.

No fear, not even of the double-digit runs I have scheduled towards the end of my run as one of my followers, Jenny, so kindly said yesterday “You have great determination so you will be able to do it, I’m sure“!!! And, I believe her. Because as she also said……..”It is harder to THINK about the run than to actually DO the run“! So true, running is very mental. It is amazing what your body can do once you mind convinces you to do it.

The Track Shack always puts lots of TIPS for runners in the Event Guides, like “Goal Setting” that I found in this edition.

Here my EATS for the day………..

Lunch

Lunch was a 1/2 a turkey, cheese and cranberry mayo sandwich on whole-grain with an 8oz cup of Torita soup.

Dinner

Dinner was a baked pork chop with broccoli and cheese, a little white rice and apple sauce.

Dessert

Dessert was a cherry italian icee. A recent “addiction” of mine, I have been eating one every night for 2 weeks……good thing they are fat-free and only have a 100 calories.

Sorry, for posting so late! I started a new assignment at work today and did not get a lunch break, in fact I almost forgot to eat……luckily my stomach reminded me with many growls. =O

TUESDAY, 7/20/10 eats will be missed, well I did eat but the camera battery was dead in the a.m. when I left and I didn’t have time to charge it before I left for work so I don’t have any pictures of them basically……….

However, pictures are not needed to tell you what I did at the gym last night. I am happy to report that I completed the following:

My training plan called for a 12 minute mile on the Easy “2 Mile” Run I did last night, however as mentioned before I have a hard time running that slow (on the treadmill, outside in the Summer Heat no problem) so I ran faster completing the 2 Miles in 21 minutes insteat of 24, which means I ran a 10:30 minute mile……..though I didn’t run that fast the entire time.

Basically I started at 5.2mph then upped the mileage every few minutes or so until I ended with a SUPER FAST pace run at 8.5mph (7:30 minute mile page) to end things, which felt great but was hard at the very very end as I haven’t even ran that fast in my life. I could literally feel my shoes wanting to come off the treadmill. =O

____________________

TIP OF THE DAY!!!

20 Ways to Torch 200 Calories

Make over your casa

Give your living room a fresh hue. Rolling on a new coat of paint burns 204 calories an hour.

Mainly adjusting some of the per miles times as the original times were a bit to slow for me and I found it difficult to run that slow (12:00 per mile, except outside that is when I typically run slower, especially in Summer). And, I also adjusted some of the long runs slightly to account for a run that I at the beginning of the plan. But I will still be ending with a 12 mile run in the end before race day.

Overall, though I think I should be able to succeed at completing this training plan if all goes well.

YES, I am nervous about the longer runs to come but I know I can do it if I put my mind to it and I also plan to do what they call the “Galloway Method” invented by Jeff Galloway or a/k/a the run/walk/run method in which you basically run for a mile or 10 minutes, then walk for 1-2 minutes, etc.

This gives you time to catch your breath, cool down and “most important” let your running muscles rest.

Many marathon runners use this method, running a mile then walking for 30 seconds to a minute and so forth, in order to keep themselves rested and their running steady throughout the entire race. So I plan to do the same on my Long Runs!